


Love Actually is all around

by tmchen



Category: Supernatural
Genre: AU, Christmas, Destiel - Freeform, Humor, Love Actually - Freeform, Movie Adaptation, Multi, Romance, Sabriel - Freeform, lots of characters, relationships
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-25
Updated: 2014-12-26
Packaged: 2018-02-27 00:47:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 13,821
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2672636
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tmchen/pseuds/tmchen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>SPN adaptation of the movie 'Love Actually'. Contains Destiel and Sabriel and many more SPN characters.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> As this fic is a SPN adaptation of the movie 'Love Actually', neither the story line nor most of the dialogues belong to me. Obviously I made a few changes, took a few artistic liberties to make it fit with the characters I used.
> 
> I didn't use all the pairings from the movie, as there are so many and I hope I didn't leave out your favorite pairing but there are still many left. Also I thought about letting this take place in the States but ran into a few problems and decided to leave it in London. Since I am more familiar with American English I used that, I hope it won't bother anyone.
> 
> This part is really short, the next chapters will be longer, as they will each cover one week of the five weeks before Christmas and then Christmas Eve.

_Whenever I get gloomy with the state of the world I think about the arrivals gate at Heathrow airport. General opinion makes out that we live in a world of hatred and greed but I don't see that. Seems to me that love is everywhere. Often it's not particularly dignified or newsworthy but it's always there. Fathers and sons, mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, boyfriends, girlfriends, old friends. When the planes hit the Twin Towers none of the phone calls from people on board where messages of hate or revenge, they were all messages of love. If you look for it, I've got a sneaky feeling you'll find that love actually is all around. ___

\-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I feel it in my fingers, I feel it in my toes," the man, who had been getting on in years, sang. He was trying for a comeback with a Christmassy remake of 'Love is all around'. It wasn't easy to remember to change the lyrics and he'd screwed up quite a few times already during this recording and his manager, a man named Crowley, was looking at him, pleading with his eyes to get it right this time.

Bobby adjusted his trucker hat that was a part of him, rubbed his bearded chin and concentrated. "Christmas is all around me."

At this, the correct lyrics, Crowley threw his arms up in relief and smiled widely.

"And so the feeling grows," Bobby continued. "It's written in the wind, it's everywhere I go. So if you really love Christmas, come on and let it snow." He stopped there, this shit was hard to sing with a straight face and he told the room exactly what he thought of it.

"This is shit, isn't it?"

"Yep, solid gold shit, love," Crowley beamed at him. With the right promotion the song would be a hit, no matter how terrible it was and it made both of them, artist and manager smile happily.

They were trying for this year's Christmas number one song but it was still a long road to get there. But the old flannel shirt wearing singer and his manager, who didn't seem to fit with Bobby in his smart, tailored black suit, had been through a lot together over the years. Somehow they had always made it and they would make it again this time and be back on top, at least for a while.


	2. 5 weeks to Christmas

Dean was hectically searching through the drawers of the apartment he shared with his girlfriend Lisa. His keys, his wallet everything seemed to hide somewhere, now that he was already late for his friends' wedding.

"It's just around the corner. You'll make it," Lisa called from the bedroom where she would stay, sick as she said she was. He put on his jacket, not his usual leather jacket but a suit jacket, and then went over to her to kiss her forehead.

"I love you," he told her. "Even when you're sick and look disgusting."

"I know," she answered with a smile. "No go." She gave him a small push and he finally went out the door to get to the church.

He made it there still in time to see the pastor proclaim Chuck and Becky husband and wife now and he witnessed the surprise, Raphael, Chuck's best friend had planned for them. As the couple started to walk back out of the church and everyone was smiling and applauding them a choir suddenly appeared on the gallery, followed by a singer who performed 'All you need is love'.

After a moment a couple of musicians, who had been sitting in the audience stood up and started playing along with the singers. There were flutes, trumpets, trombones, strings, even a guitar in the pulpit. It was a beautiful surprise and everybody smiled and laughed joyfully, together with the newlyweds.

After the ceremony Dean decided to go home briefly before the reception started, to check on Lisa and he met his half-brother Adam there.

"Hello. What the hell are you doing here," he greeted him in surprise.

"Oh, I just wanted to borrow some old CD's," Adam replied and Dean let it go, assuming that Lisa must have let him in so he could find the classic rock CD's. He used the opportunity to talk to Adam about their father's birthday, suggesting they'd all go out together.

"I'll have to ask Sam still, but I think he'll agree," he finished waiting for his brother's answer.

"Sounds fine. A bit boring but fine," Adam said, shifting on his feet a little nervously as if he couldn't wait for Dean to leave again.

"Hurry up big boy! I'm naked and I want you at least twice before Dean gets home." Lisa suddenly called from the bedroom, causing both men to awkwardly look at each other. One of them feeling betrayed and the other one feeling caught. Dean left the apartment for the moment, hoping for both Adam and Lisa to be gone by the time he returned.

"Son of a bitch," he muttered as he swiftly walked down the street, too agitated to even take his car, his beautiful American muscle car, a black 1967 Chevrolet Impala.

He didn't really want to go to the reception anymore now, so he decided to just pop in quickly, congratulate the happy couple and then leave again. When he noticed Raphael filming the dancing Becky and Chuck though, he realized that he wasn't the only one with a broken heart there. Raphael focused only on Becky, following her every step. He was clearly in love with his best friend's wife.  
\----------  
Balthazar was sitting at his desk, staring at his computer screen. In just a little bit he would have to attend his wife's funeral and he needed someone to talk to. He called his best friend Ellen, the only person he could really talk to but unfortunately she was busy. He could hear her kids in the background, wanting to tell their Mom something very important.

There was nothing else he could do now so he and his stepson Ben went to the funeral. With a huge photo of her in the background, Balthazar stepped up in front of the crowd to say his final goodbyes to his wife.

"Jo, my darling wife and Ben's darling mother, and I had a lot of time to prepare for this moment," he started. He looked into the sad faces of the grieving crowd as he continued to talk about her and some of the things she'd told him when she knew she would pass away soon. Seeing Ellen's familiar face there gave him the strength to continue, strength he also needed for Ben, who had just lost his mother.

"So she's going to say her final farewell to you not through me but, inevitably, ever so coolly, through the immortal genius of the Bay City Rollers," he finished his speech, struggling to keep the tears from falling as the first notes of 'Bye Bye Baby' started to fill the room, accompanied by a slide show of photos, showing Jo's life. As he carried her coffin outside together with a few other men he could hardly keep from crying anymore.  
\----------  
Gabriel was leaving the limousine, looking around at the audience that had gathered to witness the new Prime Minister enter the building of No. 10, Downing Street. He waved briefly before going inside to meet his new household staff. Meg was there to make introductions and show him around a little and he was grateful for her presence.

"This is Azazel, he's in charge," she told Gabriel when they stopped in front of the first staff member, a grey-haired men. They shook hands and Gabriel moved on to the woman standing next in line.

"This is Missouri," Meg said.

"Good morning, Missouri," Gabriel greeted her and the woman informed him that she would be his housekeeper. Gabriel assured her that without a wife and kids there wouldn't be much work for her and she smiled at him until he moved on to the young and very tall man who was the last in the line for introductions.

"This is Sam. He's an intern and he's knew, like you," Meg said and then waited for them to shake hands.

"Hello, Sam," Gabriel said when he took his hand.

"Hello, Gabriel. I mean, sir," the young man replied, obviously nervous at meeting the most powerful man in the country. "Shit, I can't believe I've just said that," he added, a slight blush creeping into his cheeks. "And now I've gone and said 'shit'. Twice. I'm so sorry, sir," he apologized, blushing some more.

"It's fine. You could've said 'fuck' and we'd have been in real trouble," Gabriel replied lightly, trying to make him less uncomfortable.

"Thank you, sir," Sam said relieved. "I had a premonition I was gonna fuck up on my first day." His face showed shock as he realized what he had just said and he clapped his hand over his mouth as Gabriel continued to smile. Somehow he liked the poor fellow.

"Right, I'll go get my things and then let's fix the country, shall we?" Meg interrupted their moment and after another nod at Sam, Gabriel followed her down the corridor to start his work as Prime Minister. Halfway along the hallway he stopped and turned around once more, looking at his new staff talking to each other and Sam standing awkwardly still in the same spot, not quite knowing what to do.

Gabriel then continued after Meg who lead him to his office. Once more he looked back over his shoulder before he had to greet some more people waiting for him. He told them he'd be in his office and sighed as he closed the door behind him.

"Oh no. That's so inconvenient." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar. Just what he needed now to calm his nerves.  
\----------  
At the office where she worked, Ruby entered her boss Zachariah's office to tell him that the employee he wanted to see was there now. Zachariah used the chance to ask her how she was settling in and if she was learning who to avoid.

"Absolutely," Ruby answered with a bright smile only for him. But before she had more time to talk to him, flirt with him, Jess, the employee he wanted to see joined them and Ruby returned to her desk. She turned on the radio and listened to some new Christmas song that was playing. It was a Christmassy remake of 'Love is all around' and she quite liked it and turned the volume up until Jess left Zachariah's office and asked her to turn it down again when her phone rang.

Zachariah watched the comings and goings in the office from his window, while he talked to his wife Ellen. He especially watched Ruby, though he wasn't quite ready to admit that to himself yet. He listened to Ellen talking about their kids and that they got roles in their school's nativity play on Christmas eve.

"Second lobster, can you believe that?" she asked and he laughed a little.

"There was more than one lobster present at the birth of baby Jesus?" he wanted to know, wondering what kind of play that would be.

"That's exactly what I said," Ellen answered. "And do you know what our daughter said to that?"

Zachariah shook his head, for the moment forgetting that she couldn't see him, but it didn't matter because she was already answering anyway.

"She said : duh. Can you believe it?" And they both laughed and then finished their conversation to get back to their work.  
\----------  
Meanwhile Bobby and Crowley were at a radio station, listening to Bobby's song being played while they waited for Bobby to be interviewed.

"Bobby, welcome back to the airwaves," the interviewer, Ash, greeted him. "New Christmas single, cover of 'Love is all around'," he introduced the artist who was in the studio with him.

"Except we changed the word 'love' to 'Christmas'," Bobby added to make sure everyone knew what they were talking about.

"Yes. Is that an important message to you?" Ash wanted to know.

Bobby snorted. "Not really, Ash. Christmas is a time for people with someone they love in their lives."

"And that's not you?"

"That's not me, Ash. When I was young and successful, I was greedy and foolish and now I'm left with no one, wrinkled and alone," Bobby explained, laughing an unhappy laugh after his statement.

Ash was surprised to actually get an honest answer. But then this man sitting across the desk from him didn't look like a young, glamorous rock star. He had lived and he had made experiences and as he was sitting there with his flannel shirt, his trucker hat and bearded face, he seemed like a real person, struggling to get back on top but not willing to sell his soul for it.

But as their conversation continued and they were actually making some jokes and having fun with the interview, Crowley was not a very happy manager. He was trying so hard, always dressed well in his black suit that made him look distinguished and gave him a slight demonic edge as he liked to believe. And then Bobby had to go and ruin the interview with his brutal honesty. He sighed and let his head fall back, hoping for the best.

Bobby did manage to advertise his record, though in his own way. "Wouldn't it be great if this years Christmas number one wasn't some smug teenager but an old ex-alcoholic searching for a comeback at any price?"

He continued to talk about his record and his manager Crowley, and he used so many swear words that even the interviewer, Ash, didn't know what to say anymore. He quickly helped himself by playing the record and thereby ending the interview.

Bobby turned to look at Crowley and gave him the thumbs up and the 'Victory' sign as the song started to play and Crowley didn't know what to do anymore, so he just shook his head and then covered his face with his palm. It had been a disastrous interview.


	3. 4 weeks to Christmas

Gabriel was sitting in his meeting room with his cabinet, discussing the politics of their country. Next up on the list was the visit of the President of the United States, a big event for him.

"I fear this is going to be a difficult one to play," Gabriel said and then asked his advisor's opinion.

"There's a strong feeling in the party we mustn't allow ourselves to be bullied like the last government," he said and there were murmurs of agreement throughout the room. They wanted to take a stand at this first important test.

"Right. Right. I understand that but I have decided…not to. Let's not forget that America is the most powerful country in the world. I'm not going to act like a petulant child." He stopped talking and ran a hand through his dark blonde hair, really needing a break and some sugar to keep him going.

"Who do you have to screw around here to get a cup of tea and a biscuit?" he asked no one in particular, looking around. At that moment Sam entered the room with tea and biscuits for everyone, looking very handsome and Gabriel couldn't decide if it was the smile and the eyes or the fact that he brought something to eat that made him so attractive.

"Right," he just said to himself when he saw Sam looking in his direction and realized that he'd been staring.

The next day, when he was alone in his office, doing some paperwork there was a knock on the door.

"Yeah, come in," he called and Sam entered the room with a tray full of papers from the treasury as well as a cup of tea and some cookies.

"Excellent. Thanks a lot," Gabriel said, beaming up at Sam.

"I was hoping you'd win. Not that I wouldn't have been nice to the other dude, just always given him the boring biscuits with no chocolate," Sam suddenly told him out of the blue and Gabriel looked up again from the papers he had already started to read. He laughed at the statement.

"Thanks very much, thanks," he said and Sam turned to leave.

"Sam," he called when he was almost to the door and the intern looked at him once more and nodded and smiled as he closed the door.

Gabriel thunked his head on the desk and said to himself, "God, come on, get a grip. You're the Prime Minister, for God's sake." He couldn't believe his sudden infatuation with the handsome intern.

The next time he saw Sam was when he delivered some more papers to him and he was greeted by a brilliant smile. Sam put the papers down on Gabriel's desk and was about to leave again when Gabriel called him back.

"Sam." At the mention of his name Sam turned around trying not to look too hopeful about having a private conversation with the Prime Minister. He walked back into the office a few steps while Gabriel gave a nervous little laugh.

"Erm, I'm starting to feel uncomfortable about us working in such close proximity every day and me knowing so little about you. It seems elitist and wrong," Gabriel said, giving Sam a careful but flirty look.

Sam returned the smile. "Well, there's not much to know," he answered but that was enough for Gabriel who made an extravagant gesture to make Sam step closer, which he did. Gabriel then asked him where he lived and Sam told him the area but not the exact address. Gabriel remarked that his sister lived in the same area but Sam told him that he lived on the dodgy end.

"And, do you live with your girlfriend? Or boyfriend?" Gabriel continued to ask and Sam was amused by the question but tried not to show it too much.

"No, I've just split up with my boyfriend, so I'm back with my Dad for a while," Sam explained and told Gabriel not to worry when he said he was sorry.

"He said I needed to cut my hair. That I started to look like a tramp. Not a nice guy actually, in the end," Sam explained, still a little hurt by his ex-boyfriend's remark.

"No," Gabriel agreed and they both laughed, a little bit embarrassed now. "You know, being Prime Minister I could just have him murdered," Gabriel called after Sam as he turned to leave again.

"Thank you, sir. I'll think about it," Sam replied with a shy smile and then really left the office.  
\----------  
"Right, the Christmas party, not my favorite night of the year and your unhappy job to organize," Zachariah told Ruby, who didn't seem unhappy about the task at all.

"Tell me," she said, poised to take notes.

"It's basic, really. Find a venue, over-order on the drinks, bulk buy the guacamole and advise the girls to avoid Uriel if they want their breasts unfondled."

"Wives and family and stuff?" Ruby asked, looking up from her notes.

"Yeah. I mean, not children. But their wives and girlfriends, et cetera. Oh, Christ, you haven't got some horrible six-foot, tight-T-shirt-wearing boyfriend you'll be bringing, have you?" Zachariah asked as the thought struck him. It earned him a sly smile from Ruby.

"No. I'll just be hanging round the mistletoe, hoping to be kissed," she told him almost challengingly.

"Really?" he said somewhat surprised by her reaction. He hadn't expected her to acknowledge his come-on at all. What would a pretty young girl want with a sad old man like him, when she could enchant every man she wanted with one flick of her gorgeous long dark hair.

"Right," he added, not knowing what else to say and Ruby turned and left his office to get right to work of planning the party.  
\----------  
Balthazar was worried about his son, Ben. The boy never left his room anymore since his mom's funeral and Balthazar didn't know what to do about it. He'd asked his best friend Ellen for advice who told him that it was perfectly normal and he needn't worry so much. But Balthazar wasn't that easily consoled. He told her that for all he knew the eleven-year old Ben could be doing drugs and he was only half joking, when he said that.

"The problem is his mom always used to talk to him, you know, and…" Balthazar told Ellen in the kitchen of the house that felt so empty without Jo's presence. "I don't know, this whole stepfather thing seems suddenly to somehow matter like it never did before."

"Listen, it was always going to be a totally shit time. Just be patient," she gently said, there being nothing else really she could do to help him.

"And then when he sometimes does come out, it's obvious he's been crying," Balthazar continued and then suddenly started crying himself, overwhelmed by his loneliness and helplessness. Ellen rubbed his shoulder and looked at him with all the love she had for her friend, listening to him working through his grief.

"It's such a ridiculous waste," he sobbed and she nodded. "And now it's going to ruin Ben's life as well… I just don't know." He shook his head, feeling utterly lost at the moment.

"Get a grip," Ellen told him softly. "People hate sissies. No one's ever gonna shag you if you cry all the time." That made him cheer up a little.

"Yeah. Absolutely. Helpful. Thanks, darling," he answered.

Later, on one of the rare occasions that Ben did leave his room, Balthazar took him for a walk along the Thames to give them the chance to talk. They sat down on a bench looking at the river.

"So, what's the problem, Benjamin?" Balthazar finally dared to ask. "Is it just Mom or is it something else, huh?" He thought that maybe Ben might have a problem at school he didn't want to talk about.

Ben gave him a serious look. "You really want to know?"

"I really want to know," Balthazar answered.

"Even though you won't be able to do anything to help?"

"Even if that's the case, yeah."

"Okay. Well…" Ben looked up at his stepfather with big eyes. "…truth is, actually…I'm in love."

"Sorry?" Balthazar asked, not sure he'd heard that right.

"I know I should be thinking about Mom and I am but the truth is I'm in love. I was before she died and there's nothing I can do about it," Ben explained and Balthazar started to laugh in relief.

"Ah, well. Okay, well…I'm a little relieved," Balthazar told him still laughing.

"Why?" Ben asked, not understanding his stepfather at all at the moment.

"Because I…thought it would be something worse," Balthazar admitted.

"Worse than the total agony of being in love?" Ben asked which stopped Balthazar's amusement at once.

"Err…No, you're right. Total agony," he agreed and they sat in silence for a while before returning back home.

"So, let's go. We can definitely crack this." Balthazar said as he was pacing their living room while Ben sat on the sofa watching him doubtfully. "Remember, I was a kid once, too. So come on, it's someone at school. Right?"

"Yeah," Ben replied carefully.

"Uh-huh. Good, good. And what does she, he, feel about you?"

"SHE doesn't even know my name. An even if she did she'd despise me. She's the coolest girl in school. And everyone worships her because she's heaven," Ben told him, sounding sad and hopeless.

"Good. Good," Balthazar said absentmindedly, trying to think of a solution for his son's problem as he sat down next to him. "Well, basically you're fucked, aren't you?"  
\----------  
Dean opened the windows in the little shack in southern France that he rented every year to get away from the city for a while and do some writing on his old-fashioned typewriter. This year he was especially relieved to be alone and away from the mess with Lisa and Adam. This stay would surely revive him and driving all the way down here in his baby had been a very soothing experience already.

"Alone again. Naturally," he said to himself as he sat down at his desk but it didn't feel as awful as he had expected it to.


	4. 3 Weeks to Christmas

"Hi there and welcome back," one of the hosts of the TV program promoting the two possible Christmas hits that year said loudly to be heard over the music. "So, three weeks till Christmas, looks like the real competition is gonna be Westlife."

"Yeah. I saw them on the show last week. They weren't very nice about my record. But very, very talented musicians," Bobby said not feeling quite like himself in the suit he was wearing for television.

He then proceeded to show the pen he'd brought for the winners of some competition the show was having and decided to show them the benefits of the pen right away. The hosts didn't really seem to understand otherwise.

"It's brilliant," he told them. "It even writes on glass." He turned towards the framed picture of Westlife and drew a speech bubble over their heads and wrote the words 'we're all idjits' inside it, which caused the audience to laugh and Crowley to shake his head in resignation.

"Lot of kids watching, Bobby," one of the hosts said in an attempt to make Bobby behave a bit better. Bobby turned towards the camera.

"Hiya, kids. Here's an important message from your uncle Bobby. Don't buy alcohol." At this the hosts smiled and nodded in approval until Bobby continued. "Become a rock star and they'll give it to you for free."

"And I do believe it's a commercial break," one host said quickly, interrupting the disaster the show had become and preventing things from getting worse, while Bobby stuck out his tongue at the camera.

Crowley, who had been watching at a monitor the whole time didn't know what to do with Bobby anymore. He banged his head against the screen in desperation. Bobby was doing an awesome job at sabotaging their project and all of it without even trying.  
\----------  
"So, how's the Christmas party going?" Zachariah asked when he stopped at Ruby's desk on his way to his office.

"Good," she answered brightly. "I think I found a venue. A friend of mine works there."

"What's it like?"

"Good. Good. It's an art gallery. Full of dark corners for doing dark deeds," she said and emphasized her suggestive words by visibly and deliberately spreading her legs a little.

"Oh. Right," Zachariah answered, momentarily stunned by her tone and actions. "Good. Well, I suppose I should take a look at it or something," he managed to say and then pointed at his office door and followed his own directions before he got himself into trouble at his workplace.

Ruby turned back to face her desk, a satisfied smile on her face. She was getting closer to what she wanted and she would get it. She'd make sure of that.  
\----------  
Dean was sitting at his desk, happily working on his book, when the door bell rang. He opened the door to find his landlady outside.

"Ah, bonjour Eleanor," he greeted her with a smile. She was a very nice lady and he liked her a lot.

"Bonjour, Monsieur Winchester. Welcome back," she told him warmly. "You stay here till Christmas?" she asked, which he confirmed.

"Good. Well, I find you a perfect guy to clean the house," she said, turning to walk towards her car where a young man in a tan trench coat was waiting. "This is Castiel," she told Dean who left the house to greet him.

"Ah, bonjour, Castiel."

"Bonjour," Castiel replied, taking the offered hand and looking at him with big blue eyes.

"Er, je suis, er, très heureux de vous avoir ici," Dean said in French with a terrible accent and just earned a confused stare and a tilted head from Castiel.

"Unfortunately he cannot speak French. Just like you," Eleanor explained quickly. "He's Portuguese."

"Ah, ah, buongiorno," Dean tried again, trying to remember if he knew one word in Portuguese and ending up using Italian instead. He thought hard and used all the fragments of foreign languages that were floating through his brain and he came up with Spanish next as Eleanor kindly told him. He gave up, told Cas that it was nice to meet him in English and led him inside.

"Perhaps you can drive him home after work?" Eleanor asked before the two disappeared inside the house.

"Oh, absolutely, yes," Dean agreed. "Con, con grande, er, pl…plesura," he tried again to speak Portuguese.

"Which is what? Turkish?" Eleanor asked, letting him know he made no sense at all.

Later that day Dean drove Castiel home in his car. They sat next to each in silence, which made Dean uncomfortable, even tough he couldn't really talk to him.

"Bello," he suddenly said, looking out the window and Castiel followed his gaze. "Er, mon…montagno," he explained what he was referring to.

"No, right. Silence is golden," he finally gave up his attempts and just kept talking in English about a band, in contrast to his earlier statement. Then he even started to hum the sung which made Castiel smile. "Oh, shut up," Dean told himself and kept driving in silence.  
\----------  
It was the day of the President's visit. How anyone with the name Lucifer could have been elected President of the United States was beyond Gabriel but then it wasn't the man's fault that his parents had thought Lucifer was a good name for a child. The man was all smiles and very charming though, as he greeted everyone and Gabriel invited him inside.

"Come on through. I'm sorry your wife couldn't make it by the way," Gabriel told him amiably.

"Oh, so is she. Although she would have been kind of lonely," the President replied, showing a little bit of his true personality in those words.

"Yes. Pathetic, isn't it," Gabriel tried to joke about his situation. "I've just never been able to tie anyone down. Not sure that politics and dating go together."

"Really? I never found that," Lucifer replied.

"Yeah, well, you're still sickeningly handsome, whereas I look increasingly like my Aunt Mildred," Gabriel said as he led the President through the building to the meeting room. On their way up the stairs they met Sam, who was just going downstairs.

"Ah, Sam. Hi," Gabriel greeted him as he walked past.

"Morning. How's your day so far?" Lucifer asked Sam and even turned to watch the young intern walk away. "My goodness, that's a pretty little son of a bitch," he sighed as they moved on.

"Yeah, yeah. He's terrific. At his job," Gabriel agreed a little nervously.

During the meeting the President and his staff made it clear that he knew what he wanted and that he wasn't ready to compromise on any of the points anyone brought up. Gabriel tried to keep the peace and he'd already decided before the meeting to go along with the President's policies, so there wasn't much to discuss really.

"Well, now, that was an interesting day," Gabriel said when he and Lucifer were alone in the library after the meetings.

"Sorry if our line was firm but there's no point in tiptoeing around today and then just disappoint you for four years. I have plans and I plan to see them through," Lucifer summed up the day.

"Absolutely," Gabriel agreed. "There is one final thing I think you should look at. It's very close to my heart. Just give me a second." He got up and left the room to get some papers he wanted to show Lucifer.

On his way to his office he met Sam again, who was just bringing them some drinks. "Hi," Gabriel smiled and held both hands up in greeting. "Pathetic," he muttered to himself when Sam was gone.

He didn't need long. The office was just right across the hallway and the papers he needed were right on top of the stack. When he returned to the library though, he caught Sam and Lucifer standing very close to each other. Intimately close and Lucifer had his hand in Sam's hair and was bending towards him. They both turned when they heard Gabriel entering and Sam had the decency to look embarrassed, while Lucifer acted as if nothing had happened and drank his scotch unfazed.

"I'll, erm…I'll be going then," Sam said and started to leave the room, when Lucifer called after him.

"Er, Sam, I hope to see much more of you as our two great countries work toward a better future."

"Thank you, sir," Sam replied and with an unsure look to Gabriel he left the room.

As Gabriel looked at the President and how completely unmoved he was by what had just happened, he made a decision. A decision to change his ways and stand his ground and not let bullies take things from him anymore. And that was exactly what he told the world at the press conference the next day, completely surprising Lucifer who still thought he had gotten what he'd come to London for.

"I love that word 'relationship'," Gabriel started to tell the assembled press. "Covers all manners of sins, doesn't it? I fear that this has become a bad relationship. A relationship based on the President taking exactly what he wants and casually ignoring all those things that really matter to Britain," he continued his speech, his eyes finding Sam and staying there for a moment.

"We may be a small country but we're a great one, too. A friend who bullies us is no longer a friend. And since bullies only respond to strength, from now onward, I will be prepared to be much stronger. And the president should be prepared for that."

There were happy faces among his staff and loud questions from the press all talking at the same time when Gabriel finished his little speech. The President stood there speechless, surprised and unsure how to react to this sudden change in the situation and Gabriel enjoyed seeing him like that.

Later, during the celebration when he was busy talking to all kinds of people, his sister Ellen called him.

"Yes, I'm very busy and important, how can I help you?" he greeted her.

"Have you gone completely insane?" Ellen asked when she had finally reached her brother.

"You can't be sensible all the time."

"You can if you're Prime Minister."

"It's the Chancellor on the other line," he told her to end the call.

"It isn't," she said, knowing he was making that up.

"I'll call you back," he said and hung up.  
\----------  
"The trouble with being the Prime Minister's sister is it puts your life into rather harsh perspective," Ellen said, putting away the phone and turning towards her husband, Zachariah. "What did my brother do today? He stood up fought for his country. And what did I do? I made a papier-mâché lobster head."

"What's this we're listening to?" Zachariah asked, ignoring his wife's little rant.

"Joni Mitchell."

"I can't believe you still listen to Joni Mitchell."

"I love her. And true love lasts a lifetime," Ellen explained as she wrote some Christmas cards. "Joni Mitchell is the woman who taught your cold English wife how to feel."

"Did she? Oh, well, that's good. I must write to her sometime and say thanks," Zachariah replied, sounding a bit bored.

Ellen just smiled at that and then held up two dolls, trying to decide which one to give to her daughter's friend. One looked like a transvestite and the other like a dominatrix. It was a tough choice to make.  
\----------  
It was late evening after the eventful day with the press conference where he had stood up to Lucifer. Gabriel was just undressing to go to bed and he was listening to the radio, which was praising his actions of the day. They even dedicated the next song to him. It was 'Jump' by the 'Pointer Sisters'.

As the song started Gabriel started to move one leg with the music, while he looked out his bedroom window. Then his hip joined the leg and he started to dance to the song, moving backwards through his room, into the hallway and down the stairs.

At the word 'Jump' he turned around and threw his arms in the air. He felt good after this day and dancing was the perfect way to express his feelings right now. He moved down the stairs and danced through the hallways of the deserted building swinging his hips and rolling his shoulders with every step.

When the song said 'I'll take you down' he sang along, pointing his finger at imaginary foes as he turned around slowly, only to suddenly come face to face with his secretary.

"Erm, yeah," he said, slightly embarrassed and quickly asked her to rearrange some appointments for the next day. She smiled and said it was no problem and he thanked her and turned away to really go to bed now.


	5. 2 Weeks to Christmas - Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to break this up into two parts because it was really long. Most of it is Destiel now :) Castiel speaks Portuguese in this chapter but since I don't speak it I could only use the little parts that were in the subtitles and put the rest of what Cas says in English but in italics. So just imagine it's Portuguese and remember that Dean can't understand him. Enjoy.

Dean was sitting in front of his typewriter, happily typing away while Castiel moved around the little shack, cleaning up the empty mugs Dean had left standing around. Suddenly the phone rang. Dean picked up the receiver of the old telephone on the desk in front of him.

"Hello," he answered but the ringing continued. He slammed the receiver back down and started looking for his cell phone among all the papers that were lying on the desk. Castiel put down all the dishes he had been stacking in his arms, to help Dean look for the phone. While looking under all the pages of text they bumped into each other, laughed and looked into each others' eyes for a brief moment before continuing the search.

Castiel finally found the phone, stuck between the pages of a folder and handed it to Dean who answered it while Castiel continued to clean up.

Later Dean moved outside with his work to write some more with a view on the lake that was right behind the shack he had rented. It was a beautiful day, sunny with a bit of wind. Castiel came outside, too, to bring a fresh cup of coffee and to take the used cup back inside.

"Thank you," Dean told him, looking up and smiling at him, when Castiel put down the cup. Unfortunately Dean had used the empty cup as a weight to keep the loose pages of his book from being blown away and when Cas picked up the cup to take it inside, this was exactly what happened.

"Não!" Castiel gasped as the pages fluttered away and fell into the lake.

"Eu peço imensa desculpa," Castiel said and ran after them onto the jetty. _" I'm so sorry."_

 _ _"Oh, no. Hold on," Dean tried to keep him from trying to catch the pages, but Castiel didn't listen. "Oh God, it's half the book," he added but only for himself.__

 _ _

"Que desastre," Castiel muttered while he ran. _"What a disaster."_

__

"Oh, no. Just leave them, please! They're not important," he called out again but of course Castiel couldn't understand what he was saying. "They're not worth it! Stop, stop."

But Castiel had already reached the end of the jetty and shrugged of the trench coat he wore whenever he went outside. Dean quickly climbed over the railing of the small porch where he'd been sitting, onto the jetty now himself.

"It's all just rubbish. Just leave it," he said again, while Castiel quickly undressed until he was only wearing his boxer shorts. Before he jumped into the water, Dean had a chance to admire the man's body, the strong legs and the nice back. And he also noticed the tattoo, two black wings, one on either side of the spine on his lower back.

He stood there staring until Castiel dove headfirst into the lake and Dean finally moved toward the end of the jetty now himself.

"Oh, God, he's in. And now he'll think I'm a total jerk if I don't go in, too," he said while he pulled of his shirt.

Castiel had resurfaced by now. _"Fuck, it's cold," _he gasped and started to collect the floating pieces of paper when Dean dove into the lake as well.__

"Fuck! It's freezing," he yelled. "Son of a bitch!"

_"This stuff better be good," _Cas said collecting some of the pages.__

"It's not worth it you know. This isn't bloody Shakespeare."

_"I don't want to drown saving some shit my grandmother could have written." ___

"Just stop. Stop," Dean tried again but they were already in the water now. It didn't really matter anymore.

_"What kind of idiot doesn't make copies?" _Cas complained.__

"I really must do copies," Dean decided. "You know, there'd better not be eels in here," he added as the thought struck him. He really didn't like eels and his face showed it.

_"Try not to disturb the eels," _Cas warned right that moment.__

"Oh, what the hell is that?" Dean suddenly yelled when something touched his foot and he kicked out and his head disappeared under the surface for a moment before he came back up, sputtering. This made them both laugh.

Back inside the house Dean changed into dry clothes and Castiel wrapped himself into a blanket, while Dean made them tea to warm them up. They both smiled at each other. Even though they could understand the others' language, this had been a bonding experience.

"Thank you. Thank you so much," Dean told Cas as he put down the tea. "I know. I'll name one of the characters after you. There's this angel that needs a name still," he suddenly offered.

_"Maybe you could name one of the characters after me," _Castiel suggested. _"Or give me fifty percent of the profits." _____

"Or I could give you five percent of the profits." They both drank some tea and were silent for a moment until Castiel asked what kind of book Dean was writing. Since Dean didn't understand the words Castiel started talking with his hands, making gestures and acting out scenes as if he was playing charade.

Dean quickly caught on and made stabbing motions together with imitating horror film sounds and grimaced to tell Castiel that it was a supernatural crime story and that it was at times scary. They sat together for a little longer, drinking tea and looking and smiling at each other.

_"I'd better get back to work," _Cas finally said and got up. _"Later you'll drive me home?" _he asked, pretending to steer a car so Dean could understand him.____

"Sure," Dean, who had gotten up as well, replied. "It's my favorite time of day, driving you."

_"It's the saddest part of my day, leaving you," _Cas answered. For a long moment they just stared into each others' eyes before they both moved at the same time and bumped into each other again. Then they returned to their work for the rest of the day but not without Dean turning his head several times to watch Castiel a little longer.__

When Dean drove Castiel back home they sat next to each other in silence just stealing secret glances at the other and looking away embarrassed when they did so at the same time and caught the other.

When the day had come that Dean had to leave France and go back to London for Christmas, Castiel helped him pack the car. He had bought many presents, lots of wine and garlic, too, for his family and Castiel smiled as he watched Dean trying to fit it all into the trunk of the car.

Then he drove Castiel home for the last time. They both got out of the car and looked at each other as they met at the front.

"Well, goodbye," Dean said a little awkwardly, shaking Castiel's hand.

"Obrigado," Castiel replied with a smile. _"Thank you." ___

"Erm, it was, erm,…" Dean started but couldn't find the right words.

_"I will miss you. And your very slow typing and your very bad driving," _Castiel, who had no such problems, interrupted him. Then he leaned forward a little and gave Dean a small kiss right on the lips. After another short moment he finally turned and left to hide the tears that were starting to fall.__

Dean watched him go for a while before getting back into his car. He was still so distracted by Castiel and that small kiss that he didn't pay attention to traffic and almost drove right into a passing car. Luckily he wasn't going fast so nothing really happened but scaring him half to death. He had almost hurt his baby.

\-----------

Raphael was alone in his apartment, eating breakfast in front of the TV, which was playing Bobby's new music video for 'Christmas is all around', when his doorbell rang. He switched off the TV and opened the door to find Becky standing outside. He remembered that she had called him a few days ago, asking to have a look at the video he had made at her wedding but he hadn't expected her to show up at his place unannounced.

"Can I come in?" she asked, smiling brightly at him

"Er, yeah, well, I'm a bit busy…" he said slowly but Becky was already through the door.

"I was just passing and I thought we might check that video thing out," she told him as she walked inside.

"Actually, I was being serious on the phone earlier. I don't know where it is. I'll have a look tonight," he answered, trying to get her to leave again.

"Raphael, can I say something?" she asked instead of leaving.

"Yeah," he allowed a little surprised.

"I know you're Chuck's best friend and I know you've never particularly warmed to me. Look, don't argue," she told him when he was about to do just that. "We've never got friendly. But I just wanted to say, I hope that can change. I'm nice. I really am. It would be great if we could be friends."

"Absolutely. Absolutely," he agreed. "Doesn't mean we'll be able to find the video though."

Becky didn't mind and just started to look through his shelves. "What about this one here that says 'Chuck and Becky's wedding''?" she asked pulling a tape from a shelf.

"Oh yeah, well. Wow, that could be it," he said as she already put the tape into his VCR and started watching it. As the video started Becky took off her coat and sat down.

"Oh, bingo," she sighed when it started with her walking down the aisle. "That's lovely." She laughed happily while Raphael stood next to her, not really knowing what to do.

"Thank you so much, Raphael, this is exactly what I was hoping for," she told him as the video continued. After a while she started to notice that the whole video was just of her. At first she joked about it and Raphael wished he could become invisible. Eventually though, she realized what this video really meant and she looked up at him.

"They're all of me," she stated.

"Yes," he agreed.

"But…you never talk to me. You always talk to Chuck. You don't like me," she said, stunned by the revelation.

"I hope it's useful," Raphael evaded. "Don't show it around too much. Needs a bit of editing. Look, I've got to get to a … lunch. Early lunch. You can just show yourself out, can't you?" He started to walk away. He really needed to be on his own now, away from her.

"It's a … self-preservation thing, you see," he told her just before he walked out the door. Once outside on the street he stopped and took a deep breath. He turned around again but right before his door, he changed his mind again and walked down the street, walking in circle a few times before he really left.

That had been worse than he had ever imagined and it hurt. He turned back once more and screamed out his frustration, scaring a lady passing him by. Then he finally kept walking until he reached the Thames, trying to clear his head.


	6. 2 Weeks to Christmas - Part 2

Gabriel was standing behind his desk when there was a knock on his door and Meg entered his office.

"Meg, my darling, my dream, my boat," he greeted her and she smiled at him for it. "I need you to do a favor for me," he told her.

"Of course. Anything for the hero of the hour."

Gabriel gave that remark a lopsided smile. "Don't ask me why, and for heaven's sake don't read stuff into this, it's a weird personality thing. But, erm, you know Sam who works here?"

"They guy who looks like a tramp?"

"Ooh, you'd call him a tramp?" Gabriel asked, not at all happy with her description of Sam.

"I think he's in dire need of a decent haircut. Has been for a while," she answered.

"Yeah. Well, whatever, erm, I'm sure he's a lovely guy but I wonder if you could, erm, redistribute him?" Gabriel asked, ignoring Meg's earlier statement.

"It's done," she told him and turned to leave the office. Gabriel stayed behind alone, kind of sad and wondering if that had been the right thing to do.

The next day, when he was busy signing papers, there was a knock on the door and a woman he had never noticed before entered, bringing him his tea and biscuits. It was a strange feeling, as if something was suddenly missing.

When he was done with his work Gabriel sat down to watch a little TV before going to bed. That singer, Bobby, who was competing for the Christmas number one was being interviewed. It was rather interesting to watch. Bobby told the host that things were looking bad for him but that he was hoping for a late surge.

"And if I reach number one, I promise to sing the song stark naked on TV on Christmas Eve," Bobby told the viewers. It made the audience, the host and Gabriel laugh.

"Do you mean that?"

"Of course I mean that. Do you want a preview, you old flirt?" Bobby replied and got up to stand in front of the host, pretending to open his pants.

"The host gripped his hips and looked past them into the camera, laughing. "That'll never make number one."

Balthazar was sitting at his computer but he only stared at the picture of his late wife that was standing right next to the screen, when Ben came into the room.

"Hey, Benny, can't sleep?" he asked softly.

"I got some terrible news today," Ben told him looking devastated.

"Let's have it."

"Jo's going back to America," Ben said.

"Your girl's American?" Balthazar asked.

"Yes she's American. And she's not my girl. And she's going back to America. That's the end of my life as I know it," Ben clarified.

"That is bad news," Balthazar agreed. "Well, we need Kate and we need Leo, and we need them now. Come on," he said, taking Ben by the arm and pulling him along into the living room to watch Titanic with him.

"Do you trust me?" Balthazar asked when they where reenacting a scene, Ben standing on the table, pretending it was the Titanic, spreading his arms.

"I trust you," he answered.

"FOOL," Balthazar shouted as he grabbed him around the waist and pulled him off the table, both of them laughing.

"You know Ben, I'm sure she's unique and extraordinary but general wisdom is that in the end, there isn't just one person for each of us," Balthazar tried to help his stepson.

"There was for Kate and Leo. There was for you. And there is for me. She's the one," Ben disagreed with all the conviction of an eleven-year-old boy.

Balthazar smiled and nodded. "Fair enough. And her name's Jo?"

"Yeah, I know. Same as Mom."

On the next day Ben passed some TV's that were on display in a store's window. He stopped to watch for a moment. There was this singer, Bobby, performing with a whole lot of scantily dressed women and it gave him an idea. He raced home.

"Balthazar," he called when he came through the door. "I have a plan."

"Thank the Lord," Balthazar exclaimed, turning away from his desk. " Tell me."

"Well, girls love musicians, don't they?" Ben asked and Balthazar agreed with him. "Even the really weird ones get girlfriends."

"That's right," Balthazar said.

"Okay, there's this big concert at the end of term and Jo's in it. And I thought maybe if I was in the band and played absolutely superbly, there's a chance she might actually fall in love with me. What do you think?" Ben told him his plan.

"I think it's brilliant, I think it's stellar. Apart from the one obvious tiny little baby little hiccup."

"I don't play a musical instrument?" Ben guessed the flaw in his plan.

"Yes, sir," Balthazar responded.

"Tiny, insignificant detail," Ben said.

Balthazar quickly learned that until the concert he wouldn't have one quiet minute or one peaceful night at his house anymore, because Ben had chosen the drums as his instrument and was practicing them every waking minute to become as good as possible.

The office's Christmas party was going brilliantly. There was enough booze and the music was reasonably good. People were chatting, dancing and generally having a good time. Well, maybe not Zachariah so much but he had decided not to like the party before it had even started.

"I suppose I'd better do the duty round," Ellen told him and he was thankful that his wife was willing to do that.

"You're a saint," he told her as she left to say hello to her husband's employees. But as soon as she was gone someone tapped him on the shoulder and he turned to see Ruby standing behind him, wearing a red dress and devil's horns on her head. He laughed at her outfit.

"Any chance of a dance with the boss?" she asked coyly.

"Yeah, sure, sure," he answered. "As long as your boyfriend doesn't mind." He pointed at Raphael who ran the gallery.

"Not my boyfriend," she said decisively. It was enough to make him follow her out onto the dance floor.

" You're looking very pretty tonight," he complemented her.

"It's all for you," she whispered into his ear, while his wife was talking to people, watching them dance from a distance.

"That was a good night," Ellen told Zachariah when they were back at home, getting ready to go to bed. "Except I felt fat."

"Don't be ridiculous," Zachariah told her.

"Ruby's very pretty," Ellen suddenly changed the subject.

"Is she?"

"You know she is, darling. Be careful there," she warned him. He looked at her, thinking about what she had said.

The next morning at the office he saw how right his wife had been with her warning. He had to leave to go Christmas shopping with Ellen and had to tell Ruby where he was going.

"Are you gonna get me something," Ruby asked when he left.

It surprised him a bit. "I don't know. I hadn't thought about it. See you later."

"Looking forward to it," Ruby said. "A lot."

Zachariah turned to look at her once more before he left. But when he got closer to the shopping center and his wife was nowhere in sight yet, he got out his phone and called Ruby.

"Are you gonna get me something?" he asked her.

"I thought I made it clear last night. When it comes to me you can have everything," Ruby told him.

"So, erm, what do you need?" he said trying to hide his surprise at her answer.

"I don't want something I need. I want something I want. Something pretty."

"Right. Right," he replied and hung up. At that moment Ellen was crossing the street coming towards him and together they went into the shopping center.

"Right, listen, you keep yourself occupied for ten minutes while I do the boring stuff for our mothers," Ellen said and left Zachariah, who wandered off into the jewelry section and quickly found a heart shaped gold necklace with a small ruby inlay that he liked.

He told the salesman that he wanted it gift wrapped, which proved to be a monumental mistake. The clerk put the necklace in a box and then put the box into a bag. Zachariah thought he was done then but the clerk was only just getting started. He added all kinds of decorations, among them a cinnamon stick and a sprig of holly.

It was too much for Zachariah. He stepped away from the clerk and the jewelry display just when Ellen returned. She was surprised to find him in the jewelry section but told him that he needn't worry. After thirteen years of getting scarves for Christmas her expectations weren't that high.


	7. 1 Week to Christmas

As the concert came closer Ben's practicing became even more persistent and Balthazar felt as if he'd never sleep again.

"Has she noticed you yet?" he asked Ben, when the boy was taking a break from practicing and they were both relaxing on the sofa.

"No," Ben replied sadly. "But the thing about romance is, people only get together right at the very end."

"Of course."

"By the way, I feel bad. I never ask you how your love life is going," Ben suddenly noticed.

"As you know, that was a done deal long ago. Unless Claudia Schiffer calls, in which case I want you out of here straightaway, you wee motherless mongrel," Balthazar joked. "We'll want to have sex in every room, including yours."  
\-----------  
Zachariah came home late because he'd had to do some shopping.

"Explain again why you're so late," Ellen asked him curiously.

"Oh, for heaven's sake woman. Can't a man have any secrets?" Zachariah replied a little grumpily without answering the question.

Ellen laughed a little at that. "We've been waiting for hours, it's the first ever preview," she told him, referring to the Christmas play their children were participating in at school. They were giving their parents a preview in the living room with Barney the Dinosaur as baby Jesus.

Before she followed her husband into the living room though, Ellen secretly checked his coat pockets and found a little box which contained a lovely heart shaped gold necklace with a ruby inlay. Pleasantly surprised she put the necklace back and then went to help her kids with their play.

When she had a moment alone with the Christmas tree, which was already surrounded by all the presents for Christmas morning, Ellen seized the chance to look for her special present. She found one in the right size and shape and read the little note on it.

'Sorry I'm such a grumpy bugger…,' it said and Ellen smiled. Now she couldn't wait for Christmas, when she finally got to open it.

Later that night Ellen and Zachariah permitted everyone to open one present already. The kids were ready to choose presents for their parents but Ellen made sure she got to choose her present. She picked out the little square box, of course.

"I have bought the traditional scarf as well but this is my other, slightly special, personal one," Zachariah explained before Ellen opened it.

"Thank you. That's a real first," she said and kissed him quickly before ripping off the paper as her kids were telling her to do. She had to hide her shock and disappointment though, when she didn't find the expected jewelry box but a Joni Mitchell CD instead.

"To continue your emotional education," Zachariah told her, smiling at her, proud about his choice of a present and happy that he'd surprised his wife.

And she was very surprised. So surprised that she had to excuse herself for moment and asked her husband to get the children dressed and ready to go. Then she went into the bedroom and listened to her new CD, while she allowed herself to cry for a moment with the knowledge that her husband had bought the beautiful necklace for another woman.

Meanwhile, across town, Ruby got up from her bed and put on the gold necklace her boss had given her for Christmas.

When she had calmed down again and wiped away all traces of tears on her face, Ellen returned to her family to find them all ready to leave.

"Oh my God. It's a miracle. You're all dressed," she exclaimed when she saw them and then ushered them out the door.  
\----------  
Dean was sitting in the Central London Language School. The first thing upon his return to England had been visiting this school to start to learn Portuguese. There were many people in the same room, most of them trying to learn English. Everyone had headphones on and they all practiced speaking certain phrases.

But Dean didn't only practice at the school. He was very serious about learning Portuguese as quickly as possible, so he took his lessons with him wherever he went, listening to them with his headphones even while he did some shopping.


	8. Christmas Eve - Part 1

Bobby and Crowley were having a party with quite a few people and they were anxiously waiting to find out who had made the Christmas number one. When the radio announced that Bobby had made it the crowd began to cheer.

"You are the champion, darling," Crowley shouted as Bobby climbed on the small stage in the center of the room and took the phone to talk to the host of the radio show they'd been listening to.

"Hi, Bobby."

"Hello," Bobby answered.

"We're live across the nation and you're number one," the host said and Bobby laughed happily. "How will you be celebrating?"

"I don't know," Bobby told him. "Either I could behave like a real rock'n'roll loser and get drunk with my demonic manager or, when I hang up I'll be flooded by invitations to a large number of glamorous parties."

"Let's hope it's the latter," the host said and then played Bobby's song again while Bobby hung up. An assistant immediately handed him another phone. Bobby had been right about the invitations to glamorous parties. Crowley's face fell when he listened to Bobby accepting the first invitation he got, as if he wanted nothing more than to get away from him.

"It's gonna be a very good Christmas," Bobby said and the crowd cheered at that.

A few hours later Crowley was sitting on his couch, drinking on his own and watching Bobby's video of 'Christmas is all around', when suddenly his doorbell rang.

"What the hell are you doing here. You're supposed to be at a party," he said when he walked back into his living room, followed by his visitor.

"Well, I was there for a minute or two and then I had an epiphany. It was about Christmas," Bobby started to explain.

"You realized it was all around?" Crowley couldn't resist to tease.

"No. I realized that Christmas is the time to be with the people you love," he said, putting a bottle of whiskey on the table.

"Right," Crowley nodded with his arms crossed in front of him, not quite ready to believe what he was hearing.

"And I realized that, as dire chance and fateful cockup would have it, here I am, mid-fifties, and without knowing it, I've spent most of my adult life with an Armani wearing employee. And, much as it grieves me to say it, it might be that the people I love is, in fact…you." Bobby looked as if couldn't really believe he had actually said that and neither could Crowley.

"Well, this is a surprise," he said. He had never expected Bobby to admit his feelings to him.

"Yeah," Bobby admitted. "It's a terrible, terrible mistake," he said, moving closer to Crowley, "but you turn out to be the fucking love of my life." He smiled nervously while all Crowley could do was stare. He was speechless. "And to be honest, despite all my complaining, we have had a wonderful life," Bobby continued and Crowley smiled and nodded at that.

"Well…thank you," he finally replied.

He held out his hand to Bobby, which Bobby didn't take. "Oh, look, don't be a moron," he said and awkwardly pulled his manager into a manly hug. It wasn't very graceful but it was a start, one both men felt somewhat comfortable with.

"Come on, let's get wasted and watch porn," Bobby then suggested, successfully breaking the tension between them.  
\----------  
Chuck and Becky were enjoying a nice evening at home, cuddling on the couch, when the doorbell rang.

"I'll get it," Becky said and got up to open the door to Raphael.

"Who is it?" Chuck asked from the living room.

Raphael signaled Becky to be quiet and then showed her a sign which told her to say it was carol singers, which she did. She was intrigued by Raphael being there and wanted to know what he had to say, or rather show to her. So even though Chuck told her to send the 'carol singers' away, she didn't do that and Raphael started to play a Christmas song from the CD-player he had brought.

Raphael showed the next sign to Becky, telling her that with any luck in the next year he'd be going out with one of a few very hot and famous girls. It made Becky smile. But Raphael wasn't done. He had more signs. For the moment he wanted to tell her that, because it was Christmas and at Christmas one was supposed to tell the truth, she was perfect to him. And that he would love her until she was so old that she looked like a mummy, which he illustrated nicely with a picture.

The last sign simply said 'Merry Christmas' and Becky also whispered, "Merry Christmas," at him.

Raphael smiled and then grabbed his things and walked away without saying anything. A few seconds later Becky ran out after him and stopped him. She gave him a small kiss and then went back to her husband without a word.

"Enough. Enough now," Raphael told himself when he finally walked away from her for good.  
\----------  
Dean rang the bell at his family's house. Everyone was there. His brothers Adam and Sam, his grandfather Samuel who had brought some extended family and lots of kids that called him 'uncle' even though he could never remember their names. But he always brought presents and told them stories, so they loved him.

"Uncle Dean," came calls from all over the place as the kids came forward to greet him.

"Yes, err. It's lovely to see you all," he said with a strained smile. "And, err…I'm off, actually. Sorry. A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do." He left the presents, he had brought, behind and turned to walk back through the door, leaving his family to get to the airport.

He ignored the protests and the calls of, "I hate uncle Dean," and caught a cab that would take him to the airport as fast as possible. This was important enough for him to even forget about his fear of flying.

A few hours later he left the airport of Marseille and took a cab to take him to where Castiel lived. Soon he found himself knocking on the door of Castiel's family.

_"Good evening," _Dean greeted the man who opened and who he assumed was Cas' dad. "Senhor Novak?"__

"Sim," the man answered. _"Yes."_

_"I am here to ask your son for his hands in marriage."_

_"You want to marry my son?" _Mr. Novak asked in surprise.__

_"Yes," _Dean confirmed.__

_"Come here. There is a man at the door. He wants to marry you," _Mr. Novak called into the house and a young and slightly overweight man came to the door.__

_"But I've never seen him before," _he protested.__

_"Who cares?" _his father asked.__

_"You're going to sell me to a complete stranger?" _the man, probably Cas' brother, asked incredulously.__

_"Pardon me. I'm meaning your other son. Castiel," _Dean quickly cleared up the misunderstanding.__

_"He's not here. He's at work. I'll take you," _Mr. Novak immediately offered and led Dean through the town, Cas' brother and mother following them. On their way to Cas' workplace his brother kept telling people that his father was going to sell Cas to Dean and more and more people joined them on their walk through town, the stories getting crazier on the way and everybody wanted to see what would happen.__

Finally they all arrived at the restaurant where Cas worked now. _"Where is Castiel?" _Dean asked the manager.__

_"Why should I tell you?" _the man asked him.__

_"This man wants to marry him," _Mr. Novak explained but the manager didn't like that because Castiel was his best waiter. But he didn't need to tell Dean where Cas was anymore because at that moment Cas appeared at the top of the stairs and spotted Dean standing in the entrance of the restaurant. Slowly he came a few steps closer.__

"Boa noite, Castiel," Dean greeted him. _"Good evening, Castiel."_

"Boa noite, Dean," Castiel replied. 

_"Beautiful Castiel, I've come here with a view to asking you to marriage me. I know it seems an insane person because I hardly knows you but sometimes things are so transparency, they don't need evidential proof. And I will inhabit here, or you can inhabit with me in England. Of course I don't expecting you to be as foolish as me, and of course I prediction you say no…but it's Christmas and I just wanted to…check."_

Castiel stood there for a moment, thinking about Dean's words. "Thank you," he finally said. "That will be nice. Yes is being my answer." At those words he and Dean both started to smile widely. "Easy question," Cas added. The whole crowd started to cheer at them and finally Cas made his way down the stairs to finally be closer to Dean. 

"You learned English?" he asked. 

"Just in cases," Cas answered and Dean softly touched Cas' face to pull him even closer and they kissed, Cas' arms going around Dean to hold him as close as possible. Then the rest of the family wanted to congratulate them and kissed them both and they all celebrated. 


	9. Christmas Eve - Part 2

Gabriel was alone in his living room and decided to go through some personal mail. It was all Christmas cards at this time of the year. He grabbed a stack and put them on the table in front of him. He quickly looked through them, until he stopped to really read one. It was the one Sam had sent him.

_Dear sir, dear Gabriel,_

_Merry Christmas and I hope you have a very happy New Year. I'm very sorry about the thing that happened. It was a very odd moment and I felt like a huge idiot. Particularly because (if you can't say it at Christmas, when can you, eh?) I'm actually yours._

_With love, your Sam. ___

__Gabriel slowly put the card down and thought about the words for a moment. Then he picked it back up and quickly read it again, before putting it down and reaching for the phone. He asked for a car that would immediately take him to Sam, vaguely remembering that he had talked about where he lived some time back._ _

__Since he only knew the area, not the exact address he got out when he reached the right street and started ringing doorbells to ask for Sam. The people who recognized him were very surprised and he talked to old ladies, little children and families on his search for Sam. Finally, when he was feeling exhausted and close to giving up hope, he reached Ruby's door._ _

__"Hello. Sorry to disturb. Does Sam live here?" he asked for the about millionth time._ _

__"No," Ruby answered. "He lives next door."_ _

__Gabriel's face lit up at those news. "Ah. Brilliant," he said and slowly walked over to the next house._ _

__When the door opened he was greeted by a large family and everyone was ready to go out. The adults looked at him in surprise._ _

__"Ah, hello. Is, er, Sam in?" Gabriel asked, suddenly a little nervous, especially now that he faced his entire family._ _

__"Where the fuck is my fucking coat?" Sam cursed as he walked down the stairs and only then looked up to see Gabriel standing in the door. "Oh, hello," he greeted him._ _

__"Hello," Gabriel answered._ _

__Sam quickly introduced his family and told Gabriel that they were all on their way to the school's Christmas concert because the kids were participating in it._ _

__"How can we help, sir?" John Winchester asked._ _

__"Well, I just needed Sam," Gabriel replied. "On some state business. But I don't want to make you late for the concert."_ _

__In the end they found a compromise and Gabriel gave the whole family a ride to the concert so he could talk to Sam in the car. But since they had a kid in an octopus costume sitting between them they didn't really do much talking. Sam apologized again for the incident with the president, trying to explain what had happened but when he tried to confess his love, the car stopped at the school and the kid jumped out of the car. But finally Sam and Gabriel had some privacy._ _

__"I…I think I better not come in, you know," Gabriel started. "Nobody wants to see some sleazy politician stealing the kids thunder"_ _

__"No, please come. It'll be great," Sam pleaded._ _

__"No, I'd…I'd better not. But I will be very sorry to drive away from you."_ _

__"Just give me one second," Sam asked, not wanting to let Gabriel just drive away. He had gone to school at that place and knew his way around and quickly he found the back door and led Gabriel there, so they could watch the concert from behind the stage._ _

__On their way in they met Ellen, Gabriel's sister. She was very surprised and very happy to see her brother and hugged him tightly, not quite believing that he had really come to the school's Christmas concert. She couldn't know that Gabriel was actually there because of Sam and he didn't tell her, since she was so happy to see him._ _

__Then introductions were made and Ellen warned Sam, "Watch that he keeps his hands off you. A couple of years ago you'd have been just his type."_ _

__"I'll be very careful. Don't try something, sir, just because it's Christmas," Sam answered and all three of them laughed at that. Then Ellen had to leave to get her kids ready for the show, while Sam and Gabriel went to find a place from where they could see the stage without being seen themselves. They listened to the performances and moved closer and closer together, almost kissing._ _

__When the concert was over, the curtains behind the stage opened to reveal a 'Merry Christmas' sign and a kissing couple. Gabriel and Sam had chosen the worst time and place for their first kiss and the whole room could see them. When suddenly the applause stopped they realized that something was wrong and broke the kiss to see the stunned audience and some people taking pictures._ _

__"Right. So, not quite as secret as we'd hoped," Gabriel said once he'd gotten over the shock of their discovery._ _

__"What do we do now?" Sam asked in a hushed voice._ _

__"Smile," Gabriel answered, which they both did. "Little bow," he added a few seconds later. "And now wave."_ _

__And waving and with big smiles on their faces Sam and Gabriel left the stage, accompanied by a thundering applause._ _

\----------

__Balthazar knocked on Ben's door to get him to come out for dinner._ _

__"I'm not hungry," was his stepson's answer._ _

__"Ben, I've done chicken kebabs," Balthazar coaxed without success._ _

__"Look at the sign on the door," Ben called and then started practicing again immediately._ _

__Balthazar did look at the sign then. It said: 'I said - I'm not hungry'. Defeated Balthazar turned away._ _

__"Right," he said to himself, because Ben certainly couldn't hear him anymore over the sound of the drums._ _

__Finally it was time for the concert and when Ben and Balthazar walked up the steps into the school Balthazar tried to adjust Ben's hair. Ben didn't like that and almost hit Balthazar with his drumsticks._ _

__A while later his big moment had finally come. He was on stage with the band and most importantly Jo and he was playing the drums, while she was singing 'All I want for Christmas is you'. When the song came to its end, Jo suddenly pointed at Ben when she sang the part about what she wanted for Christmas and his face lit up in a huge grin. But then she turned and pointed at other people at random, making Ben's smile disappear immediately. He'd had hope for a second but it was gone again._ _

__"Benny! Fantastic show!" Balthazar called when he pushed through the doors in the backstage area after the concert to find his stepson._ _

__"Thanks. Plan didn't work, though," Ben answered, looking sad._ _

__"Tell her then."_ _

__"Tell her what?"_ _

__"Tell her that you love her," Balthazar told him._ _

__"No way. Anyway, they fly tonight," Ben answered._ _

__"Even better. Ben, you've got nothing to lose and you'll always regret it if you don't. You've seen the films kiddo. It ain't over till it's over."_ _

__This convinced Ben. "Okay, Dad. Let's do it. Let's go get the shit kicked out of us by love." They left the school building to find Jo but were only in time to see her get into a car to drive to the airport._ _

__"It's okay, we'll go to the airport. I know a shortcut," Balthazar told Ben and they left immediately. But when they arrived there, Jo and her family had already checked in and gone through security. Balthazar tried to persuade the security guard to let Ben through but he wouldn't let him go without a ticket._ _

__Balthazar quickly thought about the options and then bent down to Ben. "Do you want to make a run for it?"_ _

__"You think I should?" Ben asked and Balthazar nodded._ _

__While another passenger, who couldn't find his ticket, distracted the guard, Ben slipped past him unnoticed and ran through the hallways and after a short stop quickly made it through the metal detector. Another security guard tried to stop him but only got a hold of his jacket and pulled it off Ben but the boy kept running, until he reached the right gate._ _

__When he was almost there, standing in a walkway with glass walls, he could see Jo and her family just getting ready to board the plane. He called through the glass but she didn't hear him, so he ran on to reach her before she was on the plane._ _

__She was already in the line to get on the plane when he got there but he was lucky that the airline employees were distracted by Bobby singing his song and stripping to it on television like he had promised, so Ben had no trouble sneaking past them. Finally he was there and he called Jo's name, who turned around immediately._ _

__"Ben?"_ _

__"I thought you didn't know my name," Ben said, surprised._ _

__"Course I do," she answered and smiled at him._ _

__Right that moment two security guards, who had chased after Ben through the airport caught up with him and he had to go with them, back to where his dad was waiting for him. He went with a smile though. Jo knew who he was._ _

__Just as he was telling Balthazar that everything had gone well, his dad told him to turn around and he found Jo standing behind him. She had followed him back to the public area of the airport. Without saying a word she pressed a small kiss on his cheek, smiled and then turned and left to catch her flight._ _

__Ben could hardly believe what had just happened and smiled even wider as he hugged Balthazar who felt very happy for his son._ _

\----------

__After the concert was over, Ellen finally had some time to speak to her husband about what she had discovered about him._ _

__"Tell me, if you were in my position, what would you do?" she asked him innocently._ _

__"What position is that?" he wanted to know, not suspecting anything._ _

__"Imagine that your husband bought a gold necklace and, come Christmas, gave it to somebody else," she started._ _

__"Oh, Ellen…" he started, realizing he'd been caught but Ellen interrupted him before he could say more._ _

__"Would you wait around to find out if it's just a necklace or if it's sex and a necklace or if, worst of all, it's a necklace and love? Would you stay? Knowing life would always be a little bit worse? Or would you cut and run?" she asked, close to tears now._ _

__"Oh, God. I am so in the wrong. A classic fool," Zachariah admitted._ _

__"Yes, but you've also made a fool out of me," Ellen said, tears rolling down her cheeks now._ _

__Zachariah looked at his wife and suddenly knew without a doubt that she was worth so much more than Ruby could ever be and that the thing with Ruby would never go further than the necklace. He would not give up on his wonderful wife and his loving family. He would fight for her to make her stay and give her anything she wanted._ _

__Ellen looked at him with teary eyes and saw his decision in his face and the way he looked at her. She saw his guilt about hurting her and that he still loved her and wanted her to stay with him._ _

__"Was it just a necklace?" she asked him quietly, hoping that the answer would be yes, because she could deal with that. When he nodded she felt better already and gave him a small smile, telling him she'd give him another chance but that she needed some time for this wound to heal._ _

__When their kids came back from changing out of their costumes she quickly wiped away her tears and hugged them tightly. She'd give Zachariah another chance and keep the family she loved together and hopefully one day she would be able to trust her husband, whom she still loved, again._ _


End file.
